Because of this, the quest for the best skin bleaching cream is rampant, not only in Africa, but also in countries where darker skin tones are more predominant. Many people seek skin lightening creams not for changing their skin color, but for evening out their overall skin tone. Patches of varying colors on the skin can be hard to resolve.

The challenge now is choosing the right skin lightening cream that will match your skin to perfection. There’s no need to look further. Before you buy the best skin lightening cream in the marketplace, here are 17 things you need to remember:

1. Epidermis Essentials: What You Need to Know About Skin Brightening

How much do you know about skin whitening, brightening or lightening?

Skin lightening is a process involving the use of various whitening products to correct skin discoloration and even out your skin tone. You can use skin lightening creams, pills, and cosmetic procedures, which you can get either over-the-counter or by prescription.

Skin lightening products contain an ingredient or a combination of ingredients that reduces the amount of melanin in your skin. Although effective in lightening areas in your skin, the prolonged and improper use of such skin products for lighter skin could lead to:

Allergic or adverse skin reactions

Premature skin aging

Permanent skin discoloration

Increased risk of skin cancer

Higher risk of skin thinning and skin infection

This is why it is important to choose your skin whitening cream wisely to make sure you won’t experience any of these side effects. How do you choose the best skin bleaching cream? The succeeding sections will tell you all about it.

2. Get Up Close and Personal with Your Best Skin Lightening Cream

According to the label, you know that you are getting a bleach cream. The question now is what is on the inside that assures you that you are getting a whitening cream.

This is why it is important to read the labels, particularly the ingredients. The success or failure of a whitening product highly depends on the ingredients. This means making sure you go for skin brightening creams with only the best ingredients.

Here are some of the ingredients you should look for that are okay to be a key part of your face whitening cream:

Glycolic and salicylic acid to remove spots and lighten your skin.

Vitamin E oil that acts as an antioxidant.

Vitamin C to lighten your skin.

Vitamin B3 or niacinamide to improve the elasticity of your skin.

Lemon extract to lighten and moisturize your skin.

Licorice extract to reduce pigmentation.

Alpha hydroxy acid for skin exfoliation.

Hydroquinone, but the bleaching product must only have a maximum of two percent concentration.

Lactic acid for those with sensitive skin.

Natural antioxidants like Kojic acid and glutathione.

If there is something you should include, there are ingredients you should exclude, which leads you to the next tip.

3. Know Thy Enemy: What Could Be Lurking in Some Skin Whitening Products

Aside from knowing the effective lightening ingredients, you also need to know the harmful substances usually included in skin lightening creams you need to avoid. Make sure the following are not part of the ingredients list of your chosen skin bleach product:

Hydroquinone with more than a two percent concentration, unless prescribed by your dermatologist.

Mercury, which could also go by the name mercurio, mercuric, calomen, and mercurous.

High doses of steroids.

Artificial substances like colors.

Before you pay for anything, make sure your chosen product is free from any of these harmful substances. A face cream with any of these ingredients could take a toll, not just on your skin, but also on your overall health.

The bottom line is to take time to read the labels. This simple technique will save you from having to deal with any unwanted effects on your health as a whole.

4. Choose Your Skin Whitener Manufacturer Wisely

The truth is there are millions of users of whitening products and a higher demand for the best skin lightening products. This is the reason why the industry of skin whitening became a multi-billion-dollar one, with tons of manufacturers showing up and claiming to produce the best skin whitening creams.

Here comes the danger: there is a possibility that you might be getting a lightening product from a bogus manufacturer or company that sells lightening products with harmful ingredients. Aside from the contents of the product, it is also important to choose a manufacturer of skin lightening products wisely.

In this case, find out the manufacturer, track record of the company, and feedback, both positive and negative about the company and their products. A website is highly recommended, so look for it, as well. From the website, you will know the company’s practices, vision and mission, where they source their products, and all the basic information you need to know about them.

From there, you can gauge whether the company is legitimate or not. Aside from the manufacturer, there is one thing you need to look for when choosing the best skin bleaching cream. Read the next section to learn more about it.

5. Go for a Trusted Brand Name in the Skin Lightening Industry

Let’s say the manufacturer is one of the best in the skin whitening industry. The question now is this: is their product worth it?

Therefore, aside from the manufacturer, you should also take note of the brand name of the skin lightening cream you are about to choose. There are known brands on the market, so take note of them first and make a shortlist of the best products available. Trim down your list based on the other tips, which you will learn more about below.

Don’t forget to ask for recommendations from your friends and family, too.

6. Consider Your Skin Type in Choosing Skin Lightening Products

Here comes another important factor in choosing the best skin bleaching cream: your skin type.

For example, your skin type can be dry, normal, oily, sensitive, or a combination of any of them. Before settling for anything, it is important to know what your skin type is. This is because there are certain ingredients that could trigger adverse reactions. For instance, sensitive skin calls for natural ingredients, while lemon as part of the ingredients is not ideal if you have dry skin.

Therefore, it is important to know your skin type first to make sure that the skin bleaching cream work and minimize adverse reactions on your skin. Apparently, it doesn’t end with skin type. There is one factor you should look into, which you will find out in the next section.

7. Don’t Forget Your Skin Color Before You Go for Skin Bleach

Aside from your skin type, your skin color also matters in choosing the right skin whitening product for you. Skin color is dependent on the amount of melanin your body produces. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin color will be.

Here is the basic six-step guide to knowing your skin tone:

Black – This is the darkest skin tone, which is the common tone among African people.

Brown – This skin tone is lighter than black and common on people from India and Middle East countries.

Olive – You can find this healthy tan glow among Asian, North African, and Southern European descent.

Intermediate – This skin tone has a bronze appearance, but without the milky complexion.

Light – People from Northern European decent have this light but with minimal milky complexion.

Very Light – This is the fairest skin tone and has an almost milky appearance.

Skin whitening products can work on all skin types. You can also find the best skin bleaching cream for black skin; however, it may take a bit longer before you see the results.

What’s the bottom line? Consider your skin type and skin color in choosing a skin whitening cream. The best one for your skin should be a combination of ingredients that work well with your skin tone, and at the same time, reduces the risk of pigmentation and blemishes on its surface.

8. Know Your Desired Result Before Settling for the Best Skin Bleaching Cream

What is your purpose for using skin whitening products? Are you after whiter, fairer skin? Do you want to correct any discoloration to achieve a more even skin tone? Whatever your purpose is, it is important that you establish the purpose for using skin bleach products.

Dermatologists recommend the use of whitening products to treat skin discoloration or hyperpigmentation problems. Aside from this, whitening creams could correct and treat the following skin conditions:

Customer reviews are there for a reason. They give you an overview of what the product is all about plus firsthand experience from real users. At the same time, they give you a glimpse of whether a particular product works or if it is simply a waste of money.

In other words, customer reviews tell you whether the product is worth every penny or not.

Can you remember the short list you made? Take time to read reviews about those skin lightening creams, then trim your list to top three. Make sure you consider both the good side and bad side to give an idea how a certain lightening product works.

Consequently, check whether the reviewer is a legitimate buyer. There are fake accounts that pose reviews to boost the brand’s name, so make sure you are reading a genuine, honest review.

10. Look for Samples and Smaller Bottles Before Going for the Bigger Variant

Finding the best skin lightening cream can be trial and error. This means you will have to try more than one product before you find the best one for you. When you are experimenting, going for bigger variants could be costly and heavy on your pocket.

Look for brands that sell their products in smaller bottles then try them one at a time. If samples are available, then take advantage of it. Observe the effects on your skin, then move on to the next. It is important that you try everything on your short list before deciding which one to invest on.

If you found a product that works well, then that’s the time you go for the bigger bottle. This strategy enabled you to save a considerable amount of money instead of going for bigger variants for the first time.

There are still few more tips you should know, so make sure you read until the end.

11. Pay Attention to Adverse Effects Before Buying a Bigger Tube

You will never know how a skin whitening cream works unless you tried it. Despite the excellent reviews and recommendations, and the impressive list of ingredients, this doesn’t automatically mean that it will work best on your skin, hence the need to buy in smaller variant.

When trying a particular product, make sure you pay attention to the effects on your skin. If you experienced redness, irritation, itching, or burning sensation, wait it out and see if it will get better after a few days. If symptoms still appear, then move on to the next.

Before applying on your skin, test a small amount of cream on your arm and watch out for any adverse effects. Let’s say you bought a bigger tube of skin whitening cream and it turns out that it doesn’t work well with your skin. Is there a way you can remedy the situation?

Check the next section because this factor is important when choosing the best skin bleach product for you.

12. A Money Back Guarantee Can Save Your Day and Your Dollars, Too

There are instances wherein despite due diligence to find the best skin bleaching cream for you, it still won’t deliver the results you wanted. Surely, you don’t want to say goodbye to your $50.

What is your option?

In that case, check for money back guarantee. In fact, this is another factor you should look into when choosing a bleaching cream for your skin. After all, you don’t want to be forced to pay for something that doesn’t work, do you? At the same time, a money back guarantee feature is the manufacturer’s way of saying, “We are proud and confident of our product and will work on your skin. If not, we can give your money back.”

After all, you don’t want to pay for something that doesn’t work, do you?

13. Never Underestimate the Power of a Whitening Cream That Promotes Healthy Skin

You want a product that could lighten your skin; however, you don’t like a skin whitener that leaves your skin dull and dry. For this reason, another factor you need to consider is the whitening cream’s health benefits on your skin. As much as possible, you want a product that nourishes your skin, moisturizes it, and keeps it healthy on the inside.

How will you know unless you try the product?

This is where the importance of checking the ingredients comes in. The best skin lightening cream must contain ingredients that are both natural and will work according to your skin type. Aside from this, you need a lightening product that has strong antioxidant protection against UV rays, which leads you to the next tip.

14. Another Skin Brightener Must: The Sun Protection Factor

Here is something you should remember about skin whitening: it will make your skin more photo-sensitive. This means sun exposure is a big no-no, otherwise all your skin whitening efforts will be put into waste. In fact, one day under the sun could reverse your journey towards whitening – and you don’t want that to happen.

Aside from the whitening ingredients, the best skin bleaching cream must also offer a sun protection factor (SPF) for your skin. There are instances when sun exposure is sudden or unavoidable, so it is best to have protection right at your fingertips – or in the case, masked on your skin.

Here comes another important consideration. In fact, this could be your deciding factor: the price.

Whitening products could range from $7 to $100, depending on the brand name. The most affordable one in the market doesn’t necessarily mean it is less effective, while the product with the highest price tag doesn’t follow that it is the most effective.

The best whitening cream must give you both the results you are aiming for and the best value for your money. It doesn’t matter if yours is the most affordable product in the marketplace. If it works well on your skin, then that should matter the most.

Despite these techniques, you might feel lost and confused, considering the tons of skin lightening products available on the market. While there are legitimate websites that post real, honest and genuine reviews, there are instances when you need help from an expert. In that case, scheduling a trip to the dermatologist is a must.

16. Consult an Expert Before in Your Quest to Get the Best Skin Lightening Cream

If you are looking for a skin expert, then a dermatologist is the best one around. They could also help you address any concerns about skin pigmentation and other issues that cause skin darkening. More importantly, a dermatologist can recommend appropriate treatments for your skin issues.

Here is another reason why you need a skin expert: they have a better understanding of the latest and safest lightening ingredients that will work best according to your whitening goals. A dermatologist could also offer an alternative in case you are wary of chemicals, such as hydroquinone.

Schedule that trip to the dermatologist as soon as you can. Don’t put everything in your own hands. At the same time, it won’t hurt if you consult an expert when it comes to your skin. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Now that you found the best skin lightening cream for you, here is your next step.

17. Tips to Remember When Using Skin Lightening Products

Apparently, your journey towards whiter skin doesn’t end with applying your chosen skin whitening cream. There are some things you need to do to make sure that all your efforts are worth it.

In that case, here are tips to remember to make sure that you are in your way towards a healthier, fairer skin:

Make sure that your whitening product does not contain harmful substances like mercury.

Always apply sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays, especially if sun exposure is unavoidable.

Follow the manufacturer’s directions when using the skin whitening cream since there are some products that have specific instructions for application.

If adverse reactions occur, discontinue use immediately to avoid further skin damage.

There are tons of skin lightening creams available on the market, all promising the same thing: to make your skin fairer and even in tone. The challenge now is finding the best one that will suit your skin and its corresponding needs.

When scouting for the best skin bleaching cream, make sure you keep these 17 tips in mind and use it as your guide to find the best one around. After all, how can you say no to a fairer, more even skin that will make you feel more confident about yourself?